North Dakota credit and debt laws

North Dakota statute of limitations on debt

• Oral contracts. The six-year paragraph covers any contract, obligation or liability, express or implied, so it does not split written from spoken deals.
• Open accounts. On a mutual, open and current account, the claim accrues from the last item proved in the account on either side.

Time limits to sue vs. time on your credit report

The North Dakota deadlines above control how long a creditor or collector can win a lawsuit. They don't change how long an account stays on your credit report. The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act limits most negative items to 7 years in every state, counted from the date of first delinquency, and a payment doesn't restart that reporting clock. See how long negative items stay for both clocks side by side.

Can a payment restart the clock?

An acknowledgment or promise to pay only extends the deadline if it is in a writing signed by the debtor (N.D.C.C. 28-01-36). The same section says it does not alter the effect of a payment of principal or interest, so the statute alone does not say a partial payment restarts the clock.

Medical debt on credit reports in North Dakota

North Dakota has no law of its own limiting medical debt on credit reports, so the national rules decide what shows. The three bureaus leave off paid medical collections and any under $500, and an unpaid one can't appear until it is a year old.

Compare every state in medical debt laws by state.

Marriage and debt

North Dakota is not a community property state. Each spouse keeps a separate credit report, and a debt generally belongs to the people who signed for it.

Do debt collectors need a North Dakota license?

Yes. A collection agency license issued by the commissioner of financial institutions is required to engage in debt collection in North Dakota, including when the debtor lives in North Dakota and the collector is elsewhere (N.D.C.C. 13-05-02).

In North Dakota, complaints about debt collectors and credit reporting can go to North Dakota Department of Financial Institutions, as well as to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

More to know in North Dakota

North Dakota uses one six-year deadline for lawsuits on contracts, and it applies the same way to written and oral agreements (N.D.C.C. 28-01-16). Card balances, personal loans and store accounts all start from a contract, so six years is the number to begin with. For a mutual, open and current account, the clock runs from the last item proved on either side of the account (N.D.C.C. 28-01-37). A later charge or credit can push that start date forward, so check the last activity date on your own statements. A promise to pay only counts against you if it is written and signed (N.D.C.C. 28-01-36). Telling a caller you owe the money does not meet that test. The section leaves the effect of payments to other law, so talk to a lawyer or legal aid before sending money on a debt that is close to six years old. The lawsuit deadline and the credit reporting period are separate clocks, and North Dakota's six years does not change how long a collection stays on your report.

Guides that go deeper

• The statute of limitations on debt, and how a payment can reset itA statute of limitations limits when a collector can sue, not whether it can ask you to pay. How the clock starts, how it can restart, and what Reg F bans.
• How zombie debt and illegal re-aging bring old debts backZombie debts are old, paid, or wrong debts that resurface after a sale. Re-aging is reporting a newer delinquency date. How to spot and fight both.
• Sued by a debt collector? What to do in the first 2 weeksA debt lawsuit you ignore usually ends in a default judgment. What to read on the summons, how to respond on time, and where to find free legal help.
• Which states ban medical debt on credit reports? The 2026 listFifteen states have laws keeping medical debt off credit reports. The statute, start date and reach of each, plus the bureau rules that apply everywhere.
• Medical debt on credit reports: the rules in force in 2026The federal medical debt ban was struck down in 2025. What still protects you in 2026: bureau policies, newer scores, state laws and hospital aid rules.